Spunk

Last night as I was driving back from work, I was waiting for the light to go green at a signal. It was one of the rare times when the radio was playing a good tune. As I merrily drummed away to it, I noticed a pair of eyes on me. I turned around to look into the keen eyes of a 12 year old girl intently fixed on my hands on the steering wheel. As she continued to gaze, what I saw was not so much a face, but a dream; for her eyes were not looking at me! They were looking at herself! In another 10-15 years J

She was riding on the floorboard of her dad’s scooter. The parents quite obviously looked like your typical Rajasthani implants struggling to find their feet in a different state. But the little one was something else! There was that in her face that refused to accept the limitation of her birth or her circumstances. Her quiet confidence brought me untold joy as a woman! As the signal changed, and I shifted to first, our eyes met for a brief moment and she gave me the most beautifully honest smile. A smile that spoke of ambition, of pride, of belief; a smile that shouted loudly and clearly- “I Will”! It was such a smile as joined 2 women of completely diverse births, backgrounds, and experiences in a single moment of Truth! In that fleeting encounter I ‘saw’ her and she knew that the woman behind the tinted car windows -worlds apart from her- saw her dreams and rooted for them… for whatever it is worth!

It’s true- sometimes a smile is a glimpse into the soul! This one showed ‘Spunk’; clear as glass, but nowhere as brittle.